Education reporter

University of Georgia tailgaters would be hard-pressed to match the party in UGA’s Memorial Hall Ballroom on Friday.

No booze, but enough smiles and laughter to last anyone a long time as perhaps 1,000 people or more celebrated the 40th anniversary of International Coffee Hour, held from 11:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. most Fridays. It’s always in the same place except for temporary relocations during building renovations.

Started by Richard Reiff, the retired executive director of the Office of International Education at UGA, the weekly event brings together students, community members and UGA employees from dozens of countries.

“It just expands my horizons,” said Perry, Ga., resident James Danforth, a sophomore biology major. “I get a feel for other cultures and I’ve made friends here.”

It can be lonely coming to a country not your own, but events like the coffee hour can take the edge off that loneliness, said Soudabeh Rafiei.

“It doesn’t allow me to feel lonely at all. Making friends is the best way to help you feel good,” said Rafiei, whose husband is studying middle school education at UGA.

She and her husband come regularly to International Coffee Hour, but Friday Rafiei was one of the featured performers, playing solo on an Iranian stringed musical instrument called the santur.

The day’s entertainment also included a kaleidoscope of a global fashion show featuring traditional and modern dress from countries all over the world, along with a spectacular break dance exhibition by the UGA Breakdance Club, a.k.a the Junkyard Dawgs.

Break dancing is very big in Japan and Korea, said Takuya Iwata of Japan, one of the stars of the multinational student group.

As usual at the coffee hour, there was food, coffee and tea that never ran out, even with a crowd that seemed to never stop coming.

Students stationed near the ballroom’s main entrance counted 778 people who came in, but more than that came Friday. People also wandered in and out of five other doors that led into the ballroom, said Leigh Poole, associate director of international student life. UGA’s International Student Life office is part of UGA’s Division of Student Affairs.

Usually about 400 to 500 people come to coffee hour, one of the longest-running programs of its type in the country, Poole said.

Most of the time, a student organization, UGA unit or community group highlights a culture or a nation during the hour.

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